Katrina Bowden co-stars in the horror-comedy sequel Piranha 3DD, which opens wide today. The 30 Rock star plays the virginal Shelby, not her first venture into the genre as she also starred in the underrated Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. Bowden can next be see in the Toronto-shot psychological thriller Nurse 3D co-starring opposite Paz de la Huerta (Into the Void, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

Katrina, you’ve starred in a couple of horror films now, including Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. Are you a horror or horror-comedy fan?

I like horror-comedy. I think it’s a really fun genre, and when it’s done well it’s really great to watch.

Horror movies I’m not so great with. I get so scared. I’m kind of a baby when it comes to that. I’ve never really been a horror fan myself, going out to go see the new horror movies, for the only reason being that I can’t really handle them. I respect how they’re made; I think it’s a really cool genre to be part of it and to make.

What do you like about your character Shelby?

She’s kind of like the damsel-in-distress. She’s kind of shy and a little bit more reserved, but then everything bad that happens to her and has all these close calls and she almost dies. She’s in no way a hero type of person, but it was fun to play a shy type of girl.

What is your director John Gulager really good at?

He’s really good at making things look really gross. The blood, the vomiting scene, he was very excited to do that scene. I think I did that five times because he wanted the puke-up to be the perfect one. And he’s really good at setting things up to be really shocking. He did all the Feast movies; that’s kind of his thing and he does it really well, and he does it in a funny, humorous way.

Not Katrina Bowden

What was the mood like on set?

It was fun. It was very light-hearted and fun, and we all had a good time. We all knew we were getting ourselves into something… we’re going to be covered in blood and be in the water, and we were down for anything.

Without giving away too much, your character Shelby is involved in a rather nasty sexual encounter with a boy and a piranha. What was that scene like to film, especially given how bloody it gets?

It was pretty difficult. I think like any kind of love scene, it’s really uncomfortable to shoot, but then you add all these extra elements into it, it becomes that much more uncomfortable and awkward for everyone.

So that was a really hard night, wondering how it was going to turn out. I wanted it to look good and be funny and realistic. It was a hard scene to shoot, but I think it turned out really well. It was worth it.

What was it like working with the piranha themselves?

That was actually really cool because the guys who did the special effects for the movie they made all that, and I just find that fascinating that they can create these kinds of things that can move and do things and spit blood. They’re really beautiful in person. I think it’s cool that they did so much practically instead of relying on CGI for everything.

You also star in the upcoming horror film Nurse3D. What was it like to work with your co-star Paz de La Huerta?

She’s definitely a very intense person. Not the easiest person to work with, but it really helps her craft. She just dives into a character, even if her character happens to be a psychopathic serial killer. So it doesn’t really equal a fun working environment, but I think it will help the movie definitely.

Are you eager to have fans see a darker side of you in that film?

Yeah. I was really eager to do some darker roles or something more intense or different from what I’ve already done. I think it’s challenging

Both that film and Piranha 3DD are in 3D. What are the challenges of working in 3D?

I do like 3D. I think it’s a really cool way to shoot a film as an element that a lot of movies don’t have. It makes it a little more difficult shooting-wise because there are more shots where you have to be conscious of where things are in terms of where the camera is. But it’s fun, and it’s not really that much different from shooting a regular movie.